Wednesday, 23 October 2013

Telling Tales

This was first published in Lionheart magazine, and can still be read in the current issue number 4 - pick up a copy for a whole array of wonderful and whimsical articles. Also, massive congratulations to the editor Helen Martin, who is now the mother of a beautiful baby.

Fairytales are often one of our first
forays into the world of fiction – a strange place of stories, make-believe and
moral quandaries. The characters captured by the Brothers Grimm and other
collectors trip off the tongue with more ease than lists of Prime Ministers or
previous monarchs: Snow White, Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel, Gretel,
Rapunzel, Beauty. Each demonstrates the power of a name, and the associations
that rise with each mention.

The name is usually known from a variety of
versions. Any number of anthologies, stand-alone books and (of course) Disney
films have either adopted or adapted Snow White and fellow cast. There are subtle
differences between the published re-tellings, like different photos of the same
subject. It is the framing, light, location and expression that change. Carol
Ann Duffy or Philip Pullman’s recent interpretations may start from common
ground but wander down different paths in their use of language and
characterization.

This is, of course, only appropriate. Fairytales
often, but not always, have their source in oral folklore. In the time
preceding formal literature, it wasn’t that one story tumbled after another in
natural progression, but that tales were assimilated into a continual cycle of
birth and death. Protagonists and plots were handed down much like the audio
equivalent of heirlooms. The Greek concept of Xenia suggested that a
well-told-tale was an adequate gift in return for food and shelter. Stories
were a currency that, unlike money, could be spread endlessly with positive
consequences. This has a global implication. Every continent and country has
its own literary heritage that once existed, according to Angela Carter, in
“the memory and mouth” of the individuals that inherited, shaped and told these
common tales. Similarities often occur. Cinderella also appears as Aschenputtel
in Germany and Cap O’Rushes in Ireland, and that’s just before we move outside
Europe to look at the multitude of African and Asian versions.

This diversity demonstrates that the vast
majority of storytellers, be they parents or travellers, took pre-existing
matter and shaped it according to their own means, so as to entertain or
explain things beyond understanding. Language was a tool long before humans
learnt to write and place imagination on paper. The spoken word is truly
democratic, costing nothing and common to us all.

According to popular legend, all literature
in existence can be traced back to just seven archetypal plots. These are
simplistically laid out by Christopher Booker as: Overcoming the Monster, Rags
to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy and Rebirth. To
attempt to slot each fairytale into one of these listed categories may reduce
it merely to its skeleton, rather than taking account of the flesh padding the
bones, but it does demonstrate that there are certain narrative shapes or arcs
common to many.

But are these arcs still appropriate to
our age? Feminist
criticism has focused on the role of women in traditional fairytales – absent
mothers, wicked stepmothers, fairy godmothers (noticing a maternal theme
here?), gorgeous princesses and innocent girls awaiting a prince or other hero.
Stereotypes have been unpicked, the expectations of male bravery and female
passivity torn apart and analysed. As early as the 1950s Simone De Beavoir was
observing that “In a song and story… [the girl] is locked in a tower, a palace,
a garden, a cave, she is chained to a rock, a captive, sound asleep; she
waits.”

Some
have responded to this imbalance by changing or subverting the traditional roles.
In Angela Carter’s ‘The Bloody Chamber’ Beauty becomes a tiger, Red Riding
sleeps with the wolf and a vampiress dies after her first exposure to human
compassion. Carter’s work is rife with rich imagery, exploration of
relationships, bawdy humour, gruesome (often gothic) detail, startling twists
and physicality.

It’s
appropriate considering that fairytales can be claimed to allow us to safely
explore the dark side of the human psyche. Every rose or drop of blood is a
symbol of something else. Dark woods with a malevolent atmosphere are
prevalent. Witches, wolves, giants, scheming family members and cruel suffering
lurk in the shadows. These motifs surface again and again. They work through allusion,
the safe world of the fairytale standing in for the sometimes unsafe world we
live in.Many of the narratives known
today have been snipped down from far more violent or unsettling sources and
re-tailored into something considered more palatable for widespread
consumption. Threat is often implicit in these cut down fairytales – the
significance usually recognized when they are read again with older eyes. When
young, the joy is in a well-woven story.

It’s
interesting that the language used to describe
fairytales shares similarities with the warp and weft of fabric – the stitching
of narrative, spinning of a good yarn, patch-working of plots, embroidery of
details. These descriptions I use are not new. Many have noted the fact that
the seamed story or underpinning theme has become a mainstay of the
metaphorical discourse surrounding fairytales and oral storytelling.

That
idea of weaving extends beyond the tale too, aptly encapsulating the way in
which fairytales have entwined and influenced contemporary culture. New interpretations
are spun onscreen; magazines continue to plunder the vault of narratives for
photographic inspiration (particularly in the work of Annie Leibovitz and Tim
Walker); we regularly use fairy tale characters as shorthand for various
experiences or types of people; thesis’ are written on their significance. We
may acknowledge that the fairytale world is sometimes outdated – for indeed it originates
from a past of different values and expectations – but it’s surprising how
often the content still resonates in our fast-paced, fantasy hungry modern
lives.

I wanted to dress up in a suitably fairy tale style costume. This vintage red lace dress cost the grand total of 99p on eBay, bought by my mum a few years ago. The chiffon sleeves are slowly decaying into shreds, but still lend themselves to the most magnificent gestures and swishing of the arms.As a quick side note, votes for me in The hClub100 still very much appreciated! All Walks Beyond the Catwalk, for whom I sometimes write, have also been shortlisted. They don't have the resources of some of the others on the list, but deserve every marker of success - they are doing genuinely good, constructive, pragmatic stuff in encouraging fashion diversity. Votes for them will be gratefully received. Thank you also the the ever-inspiring Izzy for this piece on online friendships, the power of communication and connections that stretch across the globe.

15 comments

Thanks for this satisfying read. Fairy tales have been on my mind lately, the things that scared me as a child in an uncomfortable way or a good way. Probably the discussion about what is considered appropriate Halloween wear for girls is emphasizing this theme. Your ruby dress with the fall-apart sleeves is incredibly beautiful, only 99p?! What's your own tale with this photo spread I wonder.

How timely! Fairy tales have been a recent topic of conversation among friends and family. Someone sent me this quote from Einstein (not certain if it is verifiable):

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” -- Albert Einstein

And I believe Neil Gaiman pretty much said the same thing. And so on and so forth.

Just this weekend in conversation, I was lamenting the loss of the oral tradition of story telling or remembering verse. We are so used to looking everything up online whenever we wonder about something that we have forgotten to remember anything, it seems. Perhaps I just have memories of my grandfather (or what my mother says of her father) reciting complete dialogues of Shakespeare or other poetry while getting dressed in the morning. Of course, I would not go back to the days before writing or even the internet. Just that we as a civilization shouldn't forget beautiful traditions and uses of our mental faculties and senses.

Beautiful photos. It immediately brought thoughts of Snow White and Rose Red from the first image! I've been thinking about Halloween coming up and am considering a thrift shop gown as the basis for a malevolently gothic lady! -- J xxx

Thanks for publishing that on here. I'm so glad I had a chance to read it. I haven't read Christopher Booker, but I have read Joseph Campbell's "Hero with a Thousand Faces." I feel like you'd love some of his work. I spent a summer reading everything he wrote, and at the very end of the summer read that his favorite philosopher was Schopenhauer (massive misogynist) and that he thought the woman hero's journey was in the home, washing the dishes. I mean... as a stay-at-home mother I have to say that it is very difficult and nurturing is important work, but I don't think it's the best I can accomplish as a human being, just as a mother.

You also make me want to reread Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber and also Philip Pullman's new book of fairy tales (if that's what you were referring to). My sister bought them, a beautiful book. There's also Mircea Eliade who writes interesting stuff on this theme, more mythology though, but I need to reread that as well. (Blog post about mind as sieve :)).

Loved the line about stories as currency. What a wonderful thought! Keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you! And I love that you and your mom share clothes. I hope me and my daughter have that kind of relationship. xxIzzywww.brooklynbooksandbabies.com

I love the simple, modern gothic novel heroine look here. Is the red dress from the late 60s, early 70s I wonder, when they liked those medievo-gothic-romance shapes?

I enjoy fairy-tale magical paintings, photography, animation art, and costumery, but I've rarely been a fan of the tales themselves. There was an early awareness that the original sources can be grim and brutal -- cannibalism, rape, etc.; as well as a longtime gut distaste for the active-passive gender roles. You and Simone De Beavoir sum up the problem well.

I love the imagery in this post, and the similarities about the warp and weft of fabric. I always enjoyed the collection of fairy tales my family would read to us as children. That colour on you is absolutley radiant, even better at such a steal of a price. :)/Madison

Stories as currency is a wonderful concept, and that dress is very much suited to a fairytale setting. I like to think modern fairytales are beginning to change in favour of women - Disney's Brave is one such story - it was in the making for nearly a decade, proof that the typical girl in need of saving story is out of date.

You are spellbindingly beautiful in that stunning red dress, a true pre-Raphaelite sorceress with those blood red lips and witchy sleeves. I am agog that your Mum found the dress for 99p, clever clever Mum!

I love your piece on fairytales, such a fascinating and enjoyable read. The Bloody Chamber is a book I'm always returning too, it offers much of the darkness and ambiguity of the older fairy tales while turning everything on its head.